Writing, the no-money game

On The Guardian Books Blog, Jean Hannah Edelstein considers the merits of the Macmillan New Writing Scheme, now in its third year.

Macmillan is giving unpublished new writers the opportunity to see their books in print if they are willing to sacrifice the traditional advance. (Does anyone know if these writers still get other perks? Fancy lunches?) When the scheme was launched, there was plenty of frowning, especially among the publishing establishment who assumed that the list would be composed of the stuff we shed from our slush piles. In fact the list is still on the go two years later, with 30-odd titles, which is nothing to sniff at in this precarious industry.

Macmillan New Writing, to which anyone can submit a novel, runs as follows:

Our terms are standard and straightforward: we pay a royalty of 20% on net sales; we retain world rights and share any rights revenue 50/50, and we reserve the option to publish the author’s second novel under the same terms as the first.